Herb garden magic

My writer’s nook sits at the back of the RUC. It’s a lovely little covered veranda with beautiful views of the mountains and sugar cane fields.

I love gardening and pottering around the 5 acre yard searching for fresh fruit and vegies, but I’ve been spending so much time writing my novels lately (yes – YAY) that I began to feel a little disconnected from the garden. My solution? Plant some herbs on the sill of the writer’s nook.

The picture below is what I now see when I look up from my computer screen (without the words, of course)…

…and when I look to my left I see this

Are you wondering how they’re growing up so high?

I took the following photo from outside

I bought some metal planters from the hardware shop, screwed them onto the timber wall outside and then sat the herb pots inside them. Cool! 😀

The writer’s nook is next to the kitchen (hmm, handy!) so when I’m cooking I can just grab some as I go.

134 Comments

It’s just beautiful and I love it. I’m a real ‘distance gazer’ when I’m thinking about stories (which is probably why I was always getting into trouble at school for not listening!), so this is perfect for me 😀

Mint Juleps are a great drink for summer time on the veranda . . . AFTER you’re done writing for the day. I love fresh basil on pizza, in spaghetti sauce, and in pesto. Potatoes with chopped parsley are yummy. I don’t do much with sage ~ I tend to lean more to rosemary or thyme.

Awww – thank you, Carrie! 😀 I’m sure the entire story would make a great movie one day – it’s had everything from betrayal to breakdowns to freakish accidents to love to hate and to ghosts! It’s certainly been a wild journey to say the least 😀

Is there no end to your creativity, Dianne? If I had that view, I would never leave the nook.
Yes, I love herbs and use them often…unfortunately, they’re store bought. 😦
Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos!

The climate really helps, Jill. It’s winter here at the moment but this means it’s just warm, not stinking hot (lol). Many plants can grow here all year round, so it’s the ideal place to grow pretty much anything (apart from stone fruit). I’m really glad you like the photos, I’m learning more about photography every day! 😉

My sister’s house/property has been part of a dengue prevention research programme. She has a mosquito trap at her place which is regularly monitored. Apparently, the authorities now think dengue or the dengue carriers are completely defunct in her area.

I’m in love with your writer’s nook, and think your spice heaven is just, well, heaven. When we had the acres for a large garden, I loved cutting the basil and bringing it inside in a vase; the entire kitchen and living room smelled like fresh nature for days.

You have a lovely outlook, literally and figuratively 🙂 Very clever to add value to your work space and kitchen locale with the herbs 🙂 Also, the blinds look interesting – can I ask did you make or buy them?
Because our city apartment balcony is so grimy we only grow hardy stuff like succulents and geraniums, but so desperate am I to grow something I bought a kid’s Jamie’s Garden kit from Woolies and amused myself on Sunday morning assembling it, including the stickers, but because it’s a tiny little plastic greenhouse with a lid, I’m reasoning it will keep the rail ballast off the herbs, assuming they grow!
At Taylors Arm in the gardens we have hardy edible stuff – rampant mint, oregano, lemon balm, thyme, parsley in a pot which has probably gone to seed & spread, a Bay tree and Holy Basil the size of a shrub. Holy Basil is a lot hardier than normal basil which usually quickly bug food. I will replant more sage, as I love it in chicken stuffing, but the G.O. isn’t fond of it… “not too much of that green stuff”. I love wandering around to snip a bit of this and that for flavouring or a salad/salsa garnish.
As far as uses, my favourite is to chop a bag of tomatoes, onions and/or garlic & a bunch of basil and put it into the slow cooker to make sauce.

I saw a Jamie’s Garden kit last week when I was shopping. I wanted buy it, but then thought ‘do’h! I already have enough!’ lol. Best of luck with yours and let me know how it goes 😀

The pull down blinds I bought from Bunnings – I really need them because the sun comes through in the afternoon (in winter).

One of my favourites to eat when I go out for breakfast (which is rare these days now I’m not living in the city) is bruschetta – now I’ve got all the ingredients growing in my garden (except garlic at the moment) I’m going to start making my own (like your slow cooker recipe) 🙂

Ok, that does it! I’m visiting you! LOL I love fresh herbs. Just experiment with them, that’s what I do. And fresh parsley on potatoes are really good, as is fresh basil if you want a bit of an Italian flavor.
I don’t use sage much as it upsets my stomach, but I love the smell of it. I love dill too.

I’ll have to plant some dill – I’ve got coriander coming up, I love that but many people don’t like the strong flavour. My mother-in-law wants rosemary so I’ll have to find another place to plant that because those bushes can grow pretty big! 😀

I’m also building a vegie garden for my father-in-law who has had a stroke and can’t bend down. I’ve used some old tables over in the shed and put them in the garden with pots on them so he can pick the vegetables without bending. It’s been hard work, but I’m loving it! 😀

Yes – I used Animoto which is free if you don’t go over 30 seconds. But 30 seconds isn’t really long enough so I paid the yearly subscription (about $34) and made longer ones, then put them on Youtube. I had so much fun making them and would love to do some more 🙂

I love cilantro and Bruce does not. I would put cilantro in everything but alas – I must be political. I’m with you on having the herbs in pots or planters very close to the kitchen. I do parsley – reseeds itself and goes for a couple of years – dill, basil, cilantro, chives nearby. Then further off we have scads of mint, oregano, lemon balm, and thyme. I think I love the perennial herbs the best of all. I have some pretty decent lavender these days, as well. I totally love your writing space. The views are gorgeous.

It sounds like you’re a woman after my own heart, Francis! Cilantro is something I love by my daughter can’t stand it and neither can my best friend – they say it makes their mouths go numb. You’ve reminded me that I must plant chives. I’m also building a garden outside for my father-in-law who has had a stroke and finds it hard to bend down. I’ve put the garden on old tables so he can reach everything easily. It’s been an exciting venture (and great exercise!) 😀

I love fresh herbs, and intend to make a little herb garden when we move into our soon to be renovated house in Florida. Chocolate mint sounds so delicious. I’ve never heard of this herb before. Does it taste like ‘After Eights’? 🙂 I’m sure that your writer’s nook is every author’s dream, Dianne. What a great job you’re done at the RUC. Your stirling efforts and hard work have really paid off.

The chocolate mint tastes a bit like peppermint (and ‘After Eights’). I’ve never seen it before, but father-in-law bought it for me (along with hundreds of dollars of herbs – he does nothing in moderation!)
A herb garden at the new place in Florida would be fantastic. Is the house being renovated before you move in?

Hopefully, the roof will be replaced before we get back in September. The contractor should start next week. Hubby is going to do all the other work himself, and it could be well over a year before it is habitable.

Your writers nook must be one of the best in the world…. great views, plenty of nature to see and then right next to the kitchen… all that’s missing now is a bed to rest on… or a good reclining chair to be able to sit and catch a snooze….

Enjoy your herbs. I understand parsley is a rich source of anti-oxidants. I also love the clean taste of the stuff. Your view is amazing! All your hard work on the RUC has made the place into a lovely home. I just finished reading “The Everything Theory” and oh how I wish I could talk to you about the research you did to write that book. What a story! Thoroughly enjoyed it. Barb

I’m SO glad you liked the story, Barb. You’ve made my day! The Everything Theory is probably my ‘most researched’ book and doing the research was very interesting indeed. Each time I thought ‘this can’t be right’ I was blown away with all the evidence. I’ve always wanted to write a sequel but know it would take me another 12 months of research before I even start it!

One day, one day I will have my own little private studio, apart from my house, tucked right in the middle of nature. I love your nook, and I love your herb garden idea. Chocolate mint! I didn’t know that was a plant. Very cool.

You’ve got two-fourths of a well-known song growing in your nook there (parsley and sage). Just need some rosemary and thyme and you’re all set. Although, in truth, you’re already all set with not one but TWO basil plants. Basil is called the King of Herbs for a reason. You’re nook is looking great!

What a great idea. I simply must have plants in my writing and working space. In these too short summer days I am trying to spend as much time outside as possible. I have a couple of writing weeks coming up, and will likely set up a desk on my deck overlooking our busy garden.

It looks wonderful Dianne and I agree with you. For the first time in my life I have herbs growing where I can just wander out the door and grab some for whatever I’m cooking – I love it. Grabbed shallots, oregano,parsley and thyme for dinner tonight!!

Your garden is wonderful – to smell them while you’re writing. That’s got to do good things to your brain. I’m still struggling to get my herb garden to stay healthy, but I love fresh herbs. Here’s a regular Friday night meal I cook with a tonne of fresh herbs and not much else:

It would be totally okay without it, too… I made one last night just with basil, oregano, thyme, sage, dill and coriander (plus some cinnamon, star anise, orange rind). It was delish! The whole idea is to use whatever’s fresh in the garden, and you get a different variation every time. Hope you enjoy 🙂 (and I’d love a garden like yours!)

Oh my goodness, how inspirational to have that touch of the outdoors right up at your writer’s nook! It’s so lovely. Now I am trying to think up a way to make my “space” more inviting and less cooped-up-feeling.

I don’t garden so i don’t get fresh herbs but I have plenty in little bottles in my home! I wish I was a great cook and could point you to some good tips but really I am a pinterest cooker all the way!

Dianne, you have the most vivid and wonderful pictures!
At one time or another, I’ve grown all the herbs (with varying degrees of success) but the one that surprised me was the abundant success of the chocolate mint…in Colorado. Okay is was grown inside at a very sunny window…
My neighbor taught me to make chocolate mint tea. Very good, but not especially chocolatey. Still, the growing was the fun part.

What a great idea, Marylin – I’m going to try some chocolate mint tea. I had never heard of chocolate mint before – my father-in-law bought me the plant (as well as all the others) for building him a vegie garden in his yard. He used to have one, but when he had his stroke he couldn’t lean down without toppling over so I built him a high garden so he can reach everything, I think I’ll do another post on that soon 😀

No helpful hints here…I just purchased my first two herb plants myself. I’m kinda excited about it. I have lemon basil and nevia….natural sweetener for tea and coffee… We will see how it goes…good luck!

LOL – I like the idea that you’re a little creeped out (I think!). I really hope you enjoy it and the scenery because it’s all about my home – and some of the people in the story are remarkably similar to the people I live with (shhhh – don’t tell anyone) 😀